


Detention Troubles

by ahsokaa



Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: M/M, as is the case in everything i write, peter parker is trans yo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-11-22
Packaged: 2019-01-25 16:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12535884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ahsokaa/pseuds/ahsokaa
Summary: One of MJ's drawings leads to some realizations Peter Parker isn't quite ready for





	1. Chapter 1

Peter Parker has detention. Again. And probably will for the rest of his life, with the amount of trouble he’d been in for skipping both the academic decathlon and class.

He supposes it isn’t all bad, though. Today, Ned has detention along with him. After telling a teacher he’d been viewing porn during homecoming, the other boy had received almost as much detention as he had. Though Peter feels bad Ned got in trouble while trying to help him, having his best friend alongside him makes everything better.

The bell rings, dismissing students for the day and Peter makes his way to his locker, grabbing his things and waiting for Ned so they can walk down to detention together. He waves as he sees the other boy approaching, and Ned waves back enthusiastically upon spotting him.

“Ready for your first day of detention?” Peter teases.

“Oh yeah, I’m super stoked,” Ned jokes back, nudging him slightly.

He lets out a short burst of laughter and they start walking, reaching the classroom right as detention is supposed to start. The room is empty aside from MJ, who sits in the back of the room writing something in her notebook. She looks up at Peter and he gestures to Ned to keep going before making his way over to the girl.

“Hey, MJ,” he greets nervously.

She nods at him slightly. “Hey.”

“I, uh- I just wanted to apologize for missing decathlon practice yesterday.”

“What was it this time? Tony Stark broke a nail?” she deadpans.

“No I was just- I had to-”

“Save it, Parker, I don’t actually care. Anyway, your boyfriend’s waiting.”  

His face scrunches in confusion before her implication dawns on him and he opens his mouth to protest, but she’s already turned away. He shrugs it off, ignoring the nervous feeling that’s settled in the bottom of his stomach.

Scanning the room, he finds Ned sitting a few rows over. He makes his way to the seat in the back row the other boy has saved for him. Ned occupies the desk directly in front of him and turns around once Peter gets settled, folding his arms across the back of his seat and resting his head atop them as they lean in close to talk. They spend the next few minutes discussing  _The Last Jedi_ trailer (not enough Finn, they both agree) and whispering back and forth about Spider-Man’s latest adventures.

“I’m just saying, who cares if Kylo gets a redemption arc?”

Peter lets out a laugh. “Dude, no arguments here. I’m way more excited to see Rose and Paige.”

Ned nods thoughtfully. “Are you patrolling after school? Or should I come over?”

“Probably need to go out for a little, but you can still come over.”

“Cool,” Ned says, smiling at him and Peter feels a warmth rise in his chest.  

Coach Wilson and the rest of the kids file into the room, late as usual, and detention begins. Ned sighs and turns around in his seat as Coach Wilson puts on another Captain America video (this time about changing bodies). Peter exhales loudly, slouching in his chair as his eyes search the room. He glances over at MJ, still glued to her journal as she scribbles furiously, then back at Ned.

Sometimes Peter doesn’t know how he ended up with such a good best friend. Ned is always there for him, supporting him not matter what. The other boy understands him better than anyone, and the two are so in sync they can practically finish each other’s sentences. Ned makes him feel… complete.

Not to mention Ned is one of the kindest people Peter has ever met. And the smartest. He can’t help but feel better just being around him, just looking in his eyes.

Peter breaks from his thoughts, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It's only been fifteen minutes. He folds his arms and rests his head on the desk, letting out a heavy sigh. Suddenly, a wad of paper hits him, landing on the floor in front of him. He jolts in his seat, looking around the room for the perpetrator when his eyes fall on MJ. She gives him a smirk before turning her attention back to her notebook once again. Peter bends over and picks up the piece of paper, carefully unfolding it on the desk in front of him. It’s another one of her sketches. He recognizes the face in the picture immediately as his own. He can also see the rough detailings of Ned sitting in front of him. Drawing Peter rests his chin in his hand, eyes glued on the other boy as he stares at him dreamily. His gaze is warm and full of love. MJ had even taken it upon herself to draw little hearts around his head. He feels his face heat up, cheeks turning bright red as he stares at the picture.

 _“Oh my god, do I really look like that?"_  He wonders, panicking internally. He might as well have hearts in his eyes the way he's staring at his best friend. The realization hits him like a ton of bricks (which really hurts, by the way). He looks up at Ned, then back down at the drawing sitting on his desk. _“Oh my god, I have a crush on my best friend.”_ He smacks his head again the table with a thud.

_Shit._

He spends the rest of the hour trying to talk himself out of it. He can’t have a crush on Ned, he just _can’t_. It would ruin everything between them, and Peter can’t risk losing their friendship. He’s just going to have to live in denial.

Coach Wilson dismisses them from detention and Peter shoots out of his desk. He attempts to dart from the room without another word, but Ned calls after him, running to catch up. He finally stops, pausing as the other boy closes the distance between them and falls in step beside him.

“Dude, are you okay?”

“Yeah I-I’m fine,” he stutters, breaking eye contact.

Ned looks unconvinced, but nods anyway. “See you at your place later?”

“Definitely.”

He can do this, he can ignore his feelings and continue on as if nothing has changed. He can handle this.

But then Ned smiles at him again and a warm fuzzy feeling fills his chest.

Yep, he’s screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

Michelle Jones is not one to meddle in the lives of others. She prefers to keep her distance, observing but never interfering. But god dammit, Peter Parker makes it hard not to do just that.

It's just so painful watching him and Ned, their longing glances, the lingering touches. It's obvious they're both into each other- obvious to anyone but them, that is.

So maybe that's why she did it. Maybe that's why she decided to interfere during detention all those weeks ago. Maybe she secretly thinks they'd be cute and wants them to end up together. Sue her.

But of course, her plan had majorly backfired. She forgot one important thing: Peter Parker is an idiot. And instead of talking to Ned, he’d freaked out, acting even more awkward than normal.

She watches the two from across the cafeteria as they settle in for decathlon practice. Peter looks nervous, avoiding Ned’s gaze and flinching when the other boy puts a hand on his shoulder. Ned lets go immediately, a hurt look flashing across his face.

MJ feels a twinge of guilt in the pit of her stomach. She doesn’t like a lot of people, but she likes Ned Leeds. Ned, the boy who stands up to her every sarcastic remark with one of his own. Ned, who asked her to homecoming (as friends of course, he’s been out as gay as long as she’s known him) and who she’d actually wanted to go with.

Ned, who sits in front of her with a heartbroken expression on his face. She feels anger rise in her gut. Anger at herself, but mostly, anger at Peter Parker.

She snaps at him a little harder than normal during decathlon when he answers a question wrong. “Get your head out of your ass, Parker. The rest of us are sick of carrying your dead weight.”

The hurt look on his face should make her feel better, but it doesn't.

Flash snickers and she turns to him. He winces under her gaze.

“Something to add, Flash?” He grumbles something under his breath but she ignores it. “Didn't think so, not when you haven’t answered a single question all practice.”

The rest of the decathlon team eyes her nervously, scared to say anything. She lets out a sigh. “We’re done, everyone go home.” They're not supposed to be done with practice for another twenty minutes, but screw it. Everyone practically runs from the room before she can change her mind.

Everyone except Peter, that is.

He sits there for a minute, not saying anything.

“Are you okay?” He finally speaks up, looking at her nervously.

“Yeah, whatever. Go catch up with your boyfriend.”

He opens his mouth, then closes it quickly, staring at her angrily. “I don’t know what your problem is, but I hope you figure it out.” He gets up and leaves without another word. And if she didn’t feel bad before, she sure as hell does now.

____________________

A week passes and things don’t get better. Peter avoids her like the plague. She can’t blame him though, and opts to give him some distance, only speaking to him during decathlon and sitting at a different table at lunch.

She looks up from her book and watches him and Ned from across the lunchroom. Watches as Peter leans over and tries to get something out of Ned’s hair, watches as he starts to lean in closer, eyes glued to Ned’s like they’re the only two people in the room. But just as suddenly, Peter snaps out of it, jolting backward and falling out of his seat. He runs from the room, leaving Ned sitting there, looking both confused and hurt.

Without thinking, she gets up to follow him.

She finds Peter sitting in the stairwell, hugging his knees to his chest. Wordlessly, she slides down next to him on the ground. She doesn’t know what to say, so she just sits there, watching him.

MJ sees tears welled up in his eyes and god, she’s no good at this, why can’t Liz be here? Perfect Liz who would know exactly what to say. Who would know exactly how to make him feel better.

But she’s no Liz.  

She finally speaks hesitantly. “Are you okay?”

“Since when do you care?” he bites. Okay, she probably deserved that.

“Because this whole thing is kind of my fault.” She pauses. “Because we’re friends.” She surprises even herself with that. But it’s true, isn’t it?

He doesn’t say anything, just looks at her.

“Look, I’m sorry, okay? I wasn’t trying to be mean, but you were acting like an idiot.”

“And exactly _how_ is that not mean?”

She sighs and rifles through her bag, pulling out her journal and flipping through the pages. “I have another drawing to show you.”

“Pass.”

“Trust me, you want to see this one.” And for some reason, he does. He nods slightly and MJ folds the notebook by its spine, sliding the page in front of him. This time, the drawing is of Ned. He rests his chin in his hand, staring at something out of frame. His expression is similar to Peter’s, full of warmth and longing.

“So Ned has a crush on someone. Thanks, I feel so much better now,” he says bitterly.

“You really are an idiot,” she says in a way that isn’t quite mean. She folds her notebook back open so he can see how the drawing continues onto the next page. He sees what Ned is staring at- _who_ he’s staring at.

And it’s him. Peter’s face occupies the next page, smiling happily, completely unaware of the way Ned is looking at him.

He looks up at MJ, disbelief on his face, and she merely nods.

“Go get ‘em, tiger.”

Peter grins at her big and warm and she can’t help but feel like she’s finally done something right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> gotta say, MJ's pov is a lot harder to write than i expected. her one liners are pretty easy for me to write normally but getting insider her head was more difficult than i thought it would be! hopefully i did her justice. i plan on writing one last chapter but we'll see how long that takes with finals coming up. anyway thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

Ned Leeds has never had detention in his life. Until now, that is. It’s worth it, he thinks, if it means helping Peter. He’d do it again without hesitation if it meant helping out his friend. But it’s more than that now, isn’t it?

More than that because Peter puts his life at risk every day trying to help others. And more than that because it’s been a long time since Ned starting thinking of Peter as more than just a friend.

It had started innocently enough. It was a day just like any other when he found himself staring at his best friend and wondering what it would be like to run his hands through that chronically messy hair, or to lean over and lace their fingers together.

It hadn’t been some big realization that took him by storm. It happened slowly, until it became impossible to deny his feelings anymore.

Ned did his best to hide them though. Making Peter feel uncomfortable was the last thing he ever wanted. But as it turns out, he didn’t do it well enough.

It’s the day of their first detention together when Peter starts acting weirdly around him, starts jumping at his every touch, and making excuses to cancel their plans. Ned wonders what he did to give himself away, but even looking back on it now, he’s not sure.

But from that day on, Peter acts more distant. And it hurts more than Ned thought possible, knowing that his best friend probably hates him, that he probably won’t even be able to call him that much longer.

Ned sits on the floor of Peter’s bedroom alone, Lego pieces surrounding him. He looks at the clock on the desk and sees how late it’s getting. He really needs to get home soon, but maybe he can just wait a _little_ longer, just until Peter gets home safe.

May appears in the doorway. “Hey there,” she says with a smile. “Are you getting hungry? I was thinking of ordering some pizza.”

His eyes flash to the window, then back to the floor in front of him. “No thanks,” he says softly.

“I’m sure he’s just fine out there,” she says but her words sound forced, like she needs to believe they’re true. He knows she’s worried too, knows how much time she spends pacing the small apartment just waiting until she knows he’s home safe.

“I know, it’s just-,” he pauses, trying to decide if he should really be talking to her about this. “He’s been acting really weird lately.”

May comes and takes a seat next to him on the floor. “He’s going through something right now, is all. New emotions can be hard to process.” Her voice is gentle as she speaks.

He knits his eyebrows together in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

May looks thoughtful for a moment. “I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that.” She sighs. “Just be patient with him, okay? He’ll come around soon.”

Ned’s eyes go a little wide. _Oh my god, does she know?_ He’s about to ask what she meant when there’s a sound at the window as Peter crawls through. He pulls of his mask, hair flying in every direction as he leans against the wall and takes a deep breath.

“Hey, Aunt May, is there any food? I’m starving.”

“I was just about to order pizza.”

“Yes!” Peter cheers. “You’re the best.” His eyes fall on Ned sitting next to her and his smile grows even bigger. “You’re still here! Thank god, I was worried you might have left already.”

“I’ll leave you two alone now,” May says, standing up. “Besides, I’ve got a pizza to order.”

“Thanks, Aunt May, love you,” Peter calls out.

“Love you too,” she says, but it’s muffled by the sound of the door shutting behind her.

Peter looks over at Ned, flushed with excitement clear on his face. “I’m sorry I’m late, I know I told you I’d be back sooner so we could hang out, but I-” his voice trails off nervously. “I wanted to get you something.”

He takes a seat next to Ned on the floor as he reaches in his backpack and pulls out a small bunch of flowers. They’re nothing fancy, clearly purchased at a nearby corner store, and they’re a little squished from being in the backpack, but they’re still pretty. And they’re for him.

Ned looks at Peter uncertainly. “You... got me flowers?”

Peter nods and rubs the back of his neck.

“No one’s ever bought me flowers before,” Ned confesses.

“I’ve never bought anyone flowers.” Peter lets out an awkward laugh before reaching for his backpack again.

This time, he pulls out some crumpled sheets of paper. He smooths them on the ground in front of Ned so he can see what they are. Drawings- done by MJ, he thinks- one of each of them. Staring at each other with so much love and warmth you can practically feel it. And it’s only then it really sinks in that his one-way crush might not be one-way after all.

“MJ drew these?”

Peter nods. “It’s funny, I never realized I liked you. Not until I saw the way I looked at you. And then I freaked out because I thought there was no way you’d ever feel the same.” He looks over at the drawing of Ned, a soft smile on his face. “But I guess I was wrong,” he says, but he looks at Ned expectantly, as if waiting for him to confirm.

“Yeah, you were wrong,” he laughs and Peter beams. He scoots closer to Ned, reaching a hand out to his cheek.

“Can I kiss you?” he asks, but the words are barely out of his mouth before Ned is kissing him, his hands running through Peter’s hair.

They pull apart, staring at each other and all Ned can think is, “wow”.

May calls them for dinner a few minutes later and her smile gets ten times bigger when she notices they come out of Peter’s room holding hands. He spends the rest of the night on the Parkers' couch, Peter curled against his side as they watch some corny sitcom with May. Ned doesn’t even know what it’s called, choosing instead to focus on the boy sitting next to him.

Peter walks him home later, kissing his cheek on the doorstep before waving goodbye. Ned sighs contently, going inside and excitedly gushing to his mom about the flowers and his new boyfriend. She gives him a big hug and finds a pretty vase for the flowers, which he sets on his nightstand, right next to the drawing of Peter.

Ned thinks he might owe MJ a thank you. A big one.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! come visit me on tumblr @ whisperoftheheart1995!


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